STRONGSVILLE, Ohio — The stage is set in Strongsville, where for months city leaders have been preparing for a SouthPark Mall redevelopment that could include places to sleep, exercise, and play.
City Law Director Neal Jamison says Spinoso Real Estate Group, which owns the mall, reached out to the city around summertime last year to ask for changes to the zoning code that would allow them to add a hotel, a fitness center, and outdoor playing fields.
Discussions continued through the fall and winter until April 15, when councilmembers unanimously approved an emergency ordinance that immediately put the changes into effect.
"We have a future with the mall. It's important not only for our area, but also for our schools," Jamison said Wednesday. "I think it's the biggest provider of property taxes for the school district, so we have a vested interest in making sure it's a viable entity now and in the future."
The mall sits in the ward of Councilman Gordon Short. He told 3News legislators are aware of what's happening to malls across the country, but SouthPark remains a "major asset in the city."
Short says he's not aware of any concrete plans, but that the changes the city made will give the mall the option to attract new businesses. He supports bringing in a hotel, which, according to the amendments, must have at least a three-star rating.
"We haven't seen any plans for what they want to do, but this is just giving them the ability to market it and see what they want to bring in," he explained. "It's really trying to look into the future and make sure it's a viable entity for a long time to come."
Shoppers outside the mall on Wednesday were excited to hear about the possibility of redevelopment.
"The malls are dying, so being able to bring in more business would be better instead of it being run down like Rolling Acres [in Akron] was," Andrew Giacomoni said.
"I think it's good to get more people to come out in public spaces," Katie Conkle concurred.
"It would be more business," Eric Cochran added. "More jobs."
But some were concerned about the impact a redevelopment could have on congestion in the area, which has been an issue for years.
"They definitely need to take into consideration the traffic and how to better manage it," Jennifer Giacomoni said. "It's chaos!"
ODOT announced last week that they would bring in a consultant to help them find a solution to congestion in Strongsville and Brunswick.